LT COL NOEL ELLIS
13/X/2024
Festive season has started in earnest. Eight days of fasting
ended with Dussehra celebrations’, a relief for many who were missing their
‘chota-chota’ and ‘leg pieces’. Finally, good prevailed over evil. We all
witnessed Evil burn to cinders and moved home to do just the opposite of the
gyan we had gathered before ‘swa-haing’ Ravan.
In our country people are too creative and can see the good
or evil in anything and everything. Similarly, Ravan could be imagined in
electric poles and meters too.
Have you ever seen Ravan being evacuated to hospital? I
have. Probably, in the battle of Lanka, after his grievous injuries, some
‘va-nars’ decided to take him to the hospital in an ambulance.
Ravan did not realise that that would still be his last
journey. Hospitals are known for that. I am not sure who would have paid for
Ravans medical expenses, unless he had a good Mediclaim policy or was part of
RGHS or ECHS. Poor chap would have met his fate anyhow.
I happened to go to a ‘Ravan Market’. Yes, friends, Ravan
was being sold on the road side. The effigy’s ranged from two feet to ten feet
high. A few days back they were selling Ganpati idols. The left-over idols
remained there sad and unsold, maybe cursing their luck.
Moment, I halted my Bullet, I was surrounded by sellers. ‘A
Ravan kina ra’, I enquired. How much is this Ravan for? Che sau ra. Jiyada paap
dhona hoye pher bada le lo ek hazaar ra. This guy was a talkative guy. I had
only stopped to see the colourful sidewalk. Photo khech lu, pacche lain au.
Khecho-Khecho, ghana ravan pareya hai, he told me. You can click photos as
there are many Ravans lying in store.
In our colony too there was hectic activity during Navratri
celebrations. Dandia, fasting, kanjake etc culminating into lighting Ravan on
fire. We all got together in a procession. A horse drawn buggy with our
children depicting Ram, Sita, Hanuman, and a few from the vanar sena
accompanied them.
I used to participate in the vanar sena as a child. Red
painted faces, with a stiff tail made of straw. Besides the act, the main
attraction was a piece of mithai and a bread pakora we used to get for
participation. We would make our own bows and arrows and even swords from
cardboard. Silver paper was pasted on the sword blade to give that glimmer. On
the orders of 'Akraman', we would go fighting with whosoever was not dressed
like a monkey. What fun it used to be in the good old days!
Some SNAFUs have to happen in every Ramlila function.
Sometimes the effigies would fall on their own. Ram’s arrow would break or not
reach Ravan. At times the VIP won’t know how to hold the bow. Sometimes, the
crackers won’t fire. Fire would engulf the Ramlila stage. The fire truck won’t
start. We got to see the climax scene of a film called ‘Jane Bhi do yaaro’.
Here, loading taxis were used to transport Ravans. Many
Ravans ‘jumped off’ terrified from the breakneck speed of the taxi. Many lost
their ‘clothes’ as high-speed winds tore them away. Ours reached in one piece,
thank God.
The procession carrying all Ramlila characters passed by our
home on a buggy. It was in the nick of time my camera came into action. The
buggy stopped infront of our house and the horse won’t budge. The owner of the
horse tried hard by pulling it, cajoling it, patting it but it just liked the
ambience it seemed.
Then out came his ‘sheath’, yes, that is what our ‘ustad’ in
NDA had taught us. When Pachigola, my course mate was asked about ‘parts of
horse’ to pass the equestrian test and this part in particular, she showed the
‘sheet’ of blankets under the saddle. He passed with grace marks. I won’t call
it the ‘pen-is’ as it might offend a few, but this horse wanted to desperately
pee. Till our horse unloaded five litres in a pool on the road, it didn’t
budge.
Finally, the procession and the society people reached the
open ground to finally say goodbye to Ravan. The fire was lit and crackers
burst without any glitch. Within minutes, we could see the skeleton of Ravan.
Then he fell to the ground biting the dust.
It was time to head home. We bid goodnight to each other and
dispersed. Everyone was happy like each of us had fought that war ourselves and
were victors. That was the expression on everyone’s face. Evil was dead.
Hopefully.
Can you guys relate to this kind of Dussehra celebrations? I
wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
©® NOEL ELLIS
Comments
Post a Comment